


Along the River, Among the Pebbles

by Amralime



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, BAMF Haruno Sakura, F/M, Slow Burn, Time Travel, haven't finished writing but I already know this, not a very happy ending, the ever elusive uzushiogakure, where we ignore the entirety of the canon ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 20:37:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12092952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amralime/pseuds/Amralime
Summary: Beyond the grandeur and mystery surrounding this ancient temple deep within Uzushio territory, there was something far more sinister within and Sakura finds herself deeply entangled within the very threads of time as she unravels the mystery behind a scroll that got her in this mess in the first place.Eventually, she learns why the art of seals was both revered and feared.





	Along the River, Among the Pebbles

The first thing Sakura felt was the fat droplets of cool rain spilling across her skin. The ringing in her ears faded moments later and the pattering of rain against the rocks crescendoed in the background. Her teeth clenched through the aftertaste of blood as the dull ache in her bones flared back to life. 

_ Everything hurts. _

The sudden rush of air in her lungs left her heaving and her diaphragm constricted in protest. With a pained moan, she moved an arm to prop herself up, feeling the jagged rocks dig into the raw pink skin of her palm. She ignored the charred remains of her gloves that fell limp to the side with the movement. 

She tried to breathe again but her lungs strained as she gasped for air. She pressed her free hand to her chest with chakra to facilitate the pain as she looked at her surroundings with haggard eyes. There was a lone figure in the barren wasteland, slowly but surely making its way towards her. She shifted again, her breaths coming easier and the sharp pain in her ribs receding with the flow of her chakra. 

_ I have to move. _

She tried to haul herself away from the approaching figure but her legs refused to respond. She disregarded the sensitive skin on her palm and began to claw her way backwards. It was as if her energy slipped through her palms like sand and her elbows buckled beneath her, forcing out the air left in her abused lungs as she hit the ground. She felt hot tears begin to well up in her eyes and she gritted her teeth in frustration.

_ Not here _ . 

She moved her hand out from under her and tried to grip the ground when she felt a hand seize the tresses on the back of her head and lifted. Her fist clenched.

_ Not like this. _

Her neck strained as the stranger hauled her up by the hair and her hand reflexively gripped the hand to relieve the pain on her skull. She cried out as they jerked her closer to them and she felt her legs dangle in the air. She could feel the hot air of their breath on the back of her neck and she squeezed her eye shut in revulsion as the fetid smell of rotting flesh reached her nose. 

“Where’s the scroll, shinobi?” 

Sakura rasped out a ‘Screw you’ before she was roughly tossed aside into the dirt. 

“Your mission, shinobi,” the stranger demanded, “where is it?” 

_ That’s right. _

_ The mission. _

Sakura couldn’t move but she felt herself grin weakly. 

“Answer me!” 

“I’m not telling you anything,” Sakura murmured into the dirt. 

_ I’ve got nothing left to lose.  _

The seal on her forehead activated and black tendrils began to crawl along her face, disappearing beneath the collar of her chunin vest. The moment the concentrated medical chakra returned the feeling in her legs, Sakura sprang back, gathering as much distance as she could and pulled a thin scroll from her back pocket. With flair, the kunoichi unraveled the scroll, revealing the text written in ancient script. Breaking the skin of her thumb with her teeth, she dragged the bleeding digit across the vellum and her already overflowing chakra surged towards the seal in the scroll before everything went white.  

* * *

_ “It’s a milk run,” Tsunade glanced at the chipping red nail polish on her hands before flicking her eyes back at her student. _

_ Sakura’s brow furrowed, “Wouldn’t that need require a genin team or a chunin?” _

_ Tsunade shook her head slightly, “It’s a milk run for ANBU. You should be fine.” _

_ “Why aren’t any ANBU doing it then? This milk run must be important if I’m receiving direct orders from the Hokage herself.” _

_ Tsunade abruptly stopped fiddling with the tea cup on her desk and gave Sakura a hard stare.  _

_ “Are you questioning my methods?”  _

_ Sakura shifted her weight to the other foot awkwardly, “No, shishou, I-” _

_ “You’re right,” Tsunade interrupted, “Even a rookie ANBU would be perfect for this but  _ _ unfortunately, by the time I figured out what the contents are in the scroll and how time sensitive it is, the possible contenders for this mission were all out of the village. Perceptive, as always, Sakura.” _

_ Tsunade unearthed folder from one of the paper stacks and flipped open to the first page.  _

_ “The analysis team were able to roughly translate the scroll we received from an anonymous donor. It’s roots, previously unknown, are thought to be of Uzushiogakure descent.” _

_ “Wait, Uzushio? Previously unknown? How long have we had this scroll?”  _

_ “We’ve only had this scroll for six months, but it’s been in the possession of Konoha nin for 15 years.” _

_ Sakura took a moment to digest that statement, “Who-” _

_ “Unknown, but its donation was accompanied by an older analysis which hadn’t figured out much other than it’s space-time ninjutsu properties and a location not recorded on present maps,” Tsunade skimmed the first couple of pages before pulling out a couple sheets and handing them to Sakura.  _

_ “But we know the location now?” _

_ “Correct, however it’s completely unknown territory in Konoha’s books. It’s a shame the donor didn’t hand it over when the Yondaime and his wife were alive. Kushina would’ve known more about the undocumented parts of the Uzushio’s domain. That and there’s not that many specialists in space-time ninjutsu these days.”  _

_ “Perhaps Kakashi-sensei could help with the latter?” Sakura offered while her eyes darted across the first page. Her eyes caught a familiar scrawl at the bottom. _

_ “He already did. His connections as the Yondaime’s student as well as a previous user of a space-time sharingan were too good to pass up. His contributions are invaluable.” _

_ Tsunade’s office fell quiet as Sakura read the rest of the sheet given to her.   _

_ “It says here the third seal returns it’s the scroll and it’s user to the temple it originated from. If the mission is returning it, why don’t we just activate it?”  _

_ “Hatake mentioned that was the primary function of the seal at its core, but the second and third array of the seal had unknown secondary functions to the return and our seal analysis team deemed it unsafe to activate unless under extreme duress. We’d rather return the scroll and know how our nin got there so there is a chance of return or retrieval.”  _

_ Sakura briefly looked up at Tsunade’s austere expression. _

_ “Just how important is the return of this scroll?”  _

_ The Hokage looked away, “Important enough that I’m sending the best medic out even though she should be working in the hospital, but not important to warrant a team of other jounin to accompany you.”  _

_ “And the time sensitivity?” _

_ “The older analysis mentioned a time limit on the scroll. Along with the donation, there was a request to return the scroll to its original location by a certain time. Consequences are unknown but it took us a while to find the coordinates of the location and now time is running out.” _

* * *

Theoretically, yes, the third seal on the small scroll returns it along with its user to the temple it originated from. Kakashi had been correct on that assumption. However, his report did not prepare for the vicious sensation Sakura felt upon seal activation. The yanking sensation at her navel turned violent and she felt as though her body was being pulled through a keyhole. When it was over, Sakura knew the transportation had been a success when she felt lush grass underneath her prone figure compared to the wet cold rock moments before. 

The black tendrils of her Yin seal receded from her skin and Sakura took a moment to breathe in the thick humid air around her with her freshly healed lungs. Her eyes took in the bright blue sky as she took deep gulps of air. There was a sound of rushing water nearby and tree leaves rustling in a small breeze. Sakura propped herself on her elbows and found herself in a small clearing in a forest. The scroll was strewn across the grass a few steps away from her.  

“The origin of the scroll is here?” Sakura murmured, “Maybe something went wrong.” 

Her clothes were soaked through from the rain and the fabric clung to her skin uncomfortably as she got up from the ground and inspected the rest of her body. Sakura gathered the scroll and moved to find the source of water she heard.

The tree branches towered over her, looming far above her head with reds and yellows filtering in ribbons of light through the leaves. Sakura could still see the blue sky far above the leaves, a far cry from the moody dark grey she had seen earlier. The spots of light illuminated the small patches of grass along the cool dirt floor. There was a cool breeze that ruffled the tree leaves occasionally and sent shivers down Sakura’s rain laden body. There was an occasional round stone figure propped against the base of a tree, overtaken by green growth with moss covering its carved face. 

_ Perhaps I’m not in the wrong place after all. _

As the kunoichi continued to walk through the forest, it eventually opened up to a rocky cliff face with a small stream in front of it. Sakura stared at the cliff face as it seemed to rise incredibly high. 

_ Almost as tall as the Hokage Rock back in Konoha. _

Sakura continued to catalogue her surroundings at the edge of the forest until she heard a sound to her left. Her heart leapt and she immediately dove for the high branches above her for cover. Concealing her presence just in time, Sakura was able to see two figures approach the water further upstream from where she was. When she saw the trademark konoha ANBU masks perched on their face, Sakura pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. 

_ I’m suppose to be the only konoha nin the area. _

One of the ANBU had wild brown curls and the other spiky silver hair. The latter immediately made Sakura think of the copy nin but despite what her twelve year old thought, Konoha apparently had a lot more young silver haired occupants than she presumably believed. Konoha was big, there’s no way she’d know all the shinobi on the active roster. Approaching them is absolutely out of the question. ANBU were beyond paranoid and even with the signature of the reigning hokage on a genuine mission scroll, they’re more likely to think you’re a spy than a comrade. 

But despite the debate of Sakura’s next actions, she still couldn’t shake off the last thought.

_ I’m the only one that should be here. _

* * *

The two ANBU remained on the banks of the stream until the sun had set and the only thing illuminating the area was the small campfire they had created. Sakura frowned at the lack of preemptive searches of the area before setting camp and made a note to tell Tsunade their breach in protocol.

_ Unless...they are also certain no one else should be here.  _

Sakura still couldn’t make heads or tails of where she was. No defining geographical feature was recognizable and the flora was almost completely foreign. Sakura had yet to encounter any fauna in her perch and the ANBU didn’t bring back any kills for dinner.

_ Tsunade did say the temple was in Uzushiogakure. No one’s seen that village in decades. It’s possible… _

The kunoichi hoped one of the ANBU would soon sleep so she could leave and scout the area. Evading the detection of one ANBU was far easier than two. However, to Sakura’s dismay, the ANBU began to pack up camp and put out the fire. 

_ Just a break? _

The moon and stars above casted a pale white light, illuminating the two figures as they commenced their trek further upstream. Sakura remained rooted in her spot, briefly contemplating following the pair of elite shinobi but decided against it. Trailing them without being discovered would take substantial effort and there’s no telling where they’re headed.

_ I still have my own mission to complete.  _

Her next step in protocol would be to find out what is her current location and she can’t do that while tailing the ANBU. Their silhouettes disappeared into the overcast shadow of the rock cliff and Sakura visibly relaxed, her back slumping against the trunk of the tree. A day’s worth of running, fighting, and hiding finally catches up to Sakura and her eyelids begin to weigh heavy. Her subconscious was screaming to find shelter but the thick warm air lulled her quickly.

She’ll scout tomorrow morning. 

* * *

The sun was high in the sky by the time Sakura came to. Her eyes fluttered a bit, blinking away the sleep. At the sight of the leaves above her head, Sakura’s eyes shot wide open, jolting her out of her position. It took a moment for her to remember where she was and how she got there.

_ Right, I have to scout. _

After an initial scan of the area, Sakura confirmed her initial thoughts: she had absolutely no idea where she was. Sakura had never been in this instance before seeing as the academy drills geography into the minds of the pre-genin students. A seasoned medic jounin should know where she was based on flora alone. But even though a few of the trees indicate she’s close to Fire Country, Sakura have personally been to the neighboring countries and none of them look remotely like the dense forest she found herself in.

Staring at the remains of a campfire by the riverbank, Sakura planned her next course of action.

_ Perhaps I should’ve asked the ANBU after all. _

She looked up the cliff face and contemplated scaling it to get a better vantage. A kunoichi of her calibre could probably scale it with or without chakra, but the climb down would require rest beforehand. 

_ Camping up there would be a very freezing cold ordeal _ . 

Sakura glared at the cliff for a moment before looking upstream where the ANBU took off. She couldn’t quite place her obsession with the ANBU, but they seemed to know what they were doing. Following their trail will perhaps lead her to a more geologically recognizable location. 

Nodding at her sound logic, Sakura took off. 

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot promise to update regularly because life gets in the way frequently, but if you'd like to talk about this with me any time you can find me on tumblr @eternalnuggetchild  
> Also if you're interested in beta-ing this work, please PM me!
> 
> ((This was meant for the kakasaku month of 2017 but deadlines mean nothing to me))


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